The 73rd Sanremo Song Festival did
well again on its third night on Thursday, attracting an average
of 9.24 million viewers to State broadcaster Rai's flagship
channel, 57.6% of the audience share.
The audience share figure was the highest for a third night of
the festival since 1995.
One of the highlights on Thursday was a performance by rockers
Maneskin, who won the competition two years ago and went on to
triumph at the Eurovision Song Contest, which was their platform
to international stardom.
Another special moment was an eloquent monologue volleyball star
Paola Egonu on diversity.
The 24-year-old, who has Nigerian roots, caused a stir when she
said that "Italy is racist country" at a press conference on
Thursday before her appearance at the festival.
Egonu announced that she would be taking a break from the
Italian national team last year after being subjected to racism.
The week-long festival, which runs until Saturday, revolves
around a best-song competition.
A national institution that inspired the Eurovision Song
Contest, it helped launch the careers of many of Italy's top
music stars, such as Eros Ramazzotti, Laura Pausini and
Maneskin.
The winner gets to represent Italy at Eurovision.
Singer Marco Mengoni remained top of the standings of the 2023
competition after the third night's performances.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
